Truth Be Told
by Witchmaster
Summary: I updated again, finally!! Shocked? Harry has a living father?!! If that isn't too hard to absorb, what about the fact that it's Snape? May end up as a response to Severitus's Challenge. Sorry, I suck at summaries. Please, Please R&R!!!!!!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters. And if I was making any money, I could afford a better computer.

Summary: A Snape as Harry's father story. May end up as a response to Severitus's Challenge. Sorry, no HP/SS (urg)

A/N: Sorry if the characters seem…well… out of character. I'm not very good at this.

Truth Be Told 

By Witchmaster

Prologue 

Lily Evans was nearly singing with happiness. The day was bright, she was taking a well-deserved vacation from the strenuous job of working as an Auror, and she had just found out she was pregnant. With the child of Severus Snape, her long time friend and lover, no less! The thought of his expression when she told him was enough to make her burst out laughing in this state of euphoria. She expected he'd be working in the dungeons at Hogwarts, even though it was the middle of summer. That man and his potions!

"Sev?" she poked her head around the door of the potions classroom. No, not there. Ok then, maybe his private rooms. "Severus?" yes, there he was, slaving over some potion or another, as usual. She decided to… ah… alert him of her presence. She crept up behind him and slowly took out her wand. When she was a few feet away, she whispered a charm and a large, gold firecracker shot out from the end of her wand and exploded above his head with a loud, crackling noise. 

Lily could have sworn Severus jumped about six feet into the air. He cursed as a vial he was holding dropped from his hand and tried vainly to catch it. When it was inches off the floor, Lily waved her wand at it and shouted " _Accio_!" The small vial flew into her waiting palm.

Severus spun around angrily. Lily shook the vial at him and grinned impishly, extremely pleased with herself. Maybe she had spent too much time around the marauders in her youth. 

" Lily!" her grin faded at the sound of his voice, full of deadly, cold anger, and so unlike the man she had been living with for two years. Wordlessly, she handed the vial to him.

" What are you doing here?" his voice still had that dangerous tone to it and he was glaring at her as if she were James Potter and not his long-time friend. 

" Just came to say hello," she said quietly. Now didn't seem like the time to tell him the real reason she'd come. Instead, she queried, " What are you working on?"

" Nothing," he responded shortly.

She bit back the urge to say 'It doesn't look like nothing,' and pointed to the book lying next to the smoking cauldron. For some reason, that book made her uneasy. " Can I see that?"

"No"

All right then. We'll do this the hard way, she thought. For the second time in a few minutes, she used the summoning spell "_Accio_!" The black book flew into her hands.

Lily flipped the book over and looked at the cover. _The Darkest Potions _by Kraft Jeger1. She frowned slightly. Kraft Jeger was a dark wizard famed for his poisons two hundred years ago. She quickly flipped to the page the potion Severus had been working on and took in a sharp breath when she saw the name of the potion. The Ardor2 Poison, one on the deadliest and most painful poisons known to wizard kind. She shot him a half questioning, half alarmed glance, "Severus?" 

 He glared at her. "Give that to me, you filthy Mudblood," he said, his voice colder than ice.

Her jaw dropped in shock and she stared at him. "Wha…" Was he still mad about the firecracker? She'd done that before and he hadn't acted like this!

" Give it to me," Severus commanded, holding out his left hand. As he did, his sleeve fell away. If Lily had been horrified or shocked before, it was nothing compared to how she felt upon seeing the Dark Mark burned onto her lover's, the father of her unborn child, arm. Sickened, she flung the book to the side and backed away.

" You… you," she stammered, unable to speak. " Oh, God…" She tightened her grip on her wand, once she realized she was still clutching it. Her opponent drew his own.

"_Stupefy_!" Lily cried. 

 At the same time he shouted "_Crucio_!"

Both spells ricocheted off each other and Severus had to duck as both curses shot over his head. Lily took the opportunity to duck out the door. There was one place in the castle where she could Disapparate… but she had to get away… had to get there…

"_Crucio_!" the spell hit her in the back and she fell over screaming with an agony that moved through her like fire. She thought she was going to black out when the curse was lifted. She lay there panting as Severus stood over her. Just as he lifted his wand again, she pointed her own at him and shouted the first spell that came to mind.

" _IMPEDIMENTA_!" As quickly as she could on her shaking limbs, she clambered to her feet and ran off. She had about a minute before the spell wore off. But she was almost there… yes; there was the statue of a phoenix, with its wings curved forward. Not that the students knew it, but there was this one place were a person could Disapparate. She stepped between the wings as Severus barreled around the corner.

" _Avada Kedavra_!" But she had already Disapparated.

 *****

It was ironic, really. James had inherited a fortune from his parents, yet he still preferred a modest house. Lily slowly walked up the path towards the front door, still suffering from the after affects of the Cruciatus Curse. She had Apperated to several points before appearing at Godric's Hollow. She honestly didn't want Severus to be able to track her. Glancing around, she knocked on the door, praying James was home.

"Lily? What're you doing here?" Even though it was past noon, James looked as though he'd just woken up.

" I need your help," she said bluntly. Apparently he understood her urgency, for he quickly motioned her inside and shut the door.

" What happened? I seriously doubt this is a social call." Trust James to make a joke. Lily put a finger to her lips and cast several sound- proofing charms. Then, she spilt her story. By the end, she was nearly in tears. 

" Oh, Lily…" James muttered.

" What am I going to do? He can't know we have a child!" She bit her lip in frustration. Suddenly she realized he was staring at her  rather oddly. " What?"

" I do have an idea. Mind you, it's farfetched. And no one could know the truth except us," he seemed to be talking more to himself than her. For some reason, she found this annoying. 

" Well?" The word came out in almost a growl.

James grinned wryly at her and took a deep breath. " Lily? Will you marry me?"

*****

:: 1 month and a half later ::

You know, Lily thought on the day of the wedding, this really wasn't a bad idea at all. No one would ever know what had really happened. And marrying James certainly wasn't a bad idea. They had been friends since first year, after all, and had worked together for several more years. She liked and trusted him. As he lifted the veil from her face, she wondered if like could turn into love. 

" You may kiss the bride." As their lips touched, a wild cheering went through the crowd of friends and family. With all the joyous celebration, no one noticed the dark figure standing in the shadows.

*****

:: 9 months later ::

" Well, I guess we should do this." The flickering light from the fireplace made James's face look grimmer, older.

Lily looked down at the little boy curled up in her arms. They had put off doing the spells as long as they could, but the features that looked like Severus were beginning to show. Slowly, she nodded and raised her wand and pointed it at her child. Next to her, James did the same.

" _Celare Imago Snape!!_"3 they both cried at the same time. Immediately, the child's hair disappeared and many other features blurred. Lily turned to James.

" All we need is a hair of yours or something that belongs to you." She told him. James reached up and plucked out a hair. Then, he pointed his wand at it and said the levitation charm. Slowly, he let the hair float until it was in front of Lily's wand tip.

"_Monstrare Imago Potter!_"4 The charm moved through the hair and when the light from it had dulled enough for them to look down, they saw a baby that looked very much like a child from James and Lily.

 " When will the charms wear off?" James asked as he peered down at the infant.

" Around Harry's fifteenth birth. By then, he'll be old enough to understand and hopefully this thing with Voldemort will have died down a bit." She slowly began to rock her son in her arms. 

" And if we're dead before then?" James asked softly. They both knew Voldemort was looking for them.

" I've already taken care of that."

****

:: about a year later ::

" Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-" James shouted, near- panicked.

He watched as Lily ran from the room towards their- no, her son. Amazing how much Harry had come to seem like his son…and now, because of his own stupidity, that child and his wife might die. He was furious with himself for trusting Wormtail instead of his good friend Padfoot. Then the door burst open and he had no time for any other thoughts than that of the horror gliding through his front door.

Lily ran down the hall towards Harry's room. As she flung the door open, she heard the cry of "_ Avada Kadavra!" _ come from the front room. For a second she stood frozen with shock. James was dead. She had come to love him and he had done so much for her. Now he was dead. Then she snapped out of her trance and, with tears streaming down her cheeks, slammed the door shut and murmured several locking charms. Not that they would do any good against the most powerful dark lord in centuries. Her worst fears became reality as the door sprung open and she was tossed to the side from the force of the spell.

When she managed to spring back onto her feet, she realized Voldemort's wand was pointed, not at herself, but her son. She sprang between the wand and her son with a strangled cry.

" Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" She realized she was begging, but didn't care.

" Stand aside, you silly girl, stand aside now." 

" Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead-" Her plea was cut off as the Dark Lord interrupted her.

" Move, you foolish girl." He tried to step around her, but she stepped in his path.

" Not Harry! Please have mercy… have mercy!" She was nearly on her knees begging.

Lord Voldemort began laughing. " Mercy? I have no mercy," he said. The laughter stopped abruptly, and he hissed the last words Lily would ever hear, "_ Avada Kedavra!"_

*****

TBC…

*****

Well? Please tell me what you think! I need feedback. I also need a plot, but I expect one will develop. Also, can anyone think of a better title?

 Something I need to know:

Yea or nea on the footnotes? Personally, I find them annoying.

Please REVIEW!!!!!

                        --- _WM_

  


* * *

1  Means _power hunter_ in Norwegian

2  Means _flame_ in Latin

3  Celare means _hide _in Latin. Imago means_ image._

4 Monstare means _show _in Latin.


	2. Fortress Falls

Disclaimer: Surprise! I don't own any of the characters. That's why this is fan fiction and not original.

Summary: Harry has a living father?! If that isn't hard enough to absorb, what about the fact that it's Snape? May end up as a response to Severitus's Challenge. Sorry, no slash.

A/N: I think I might have a plot now. Sorry if this chapter is a bit more hesitant than the last, but I'm not quite sure what I'm doing now that there is actually a story line involved.

Truth Be Told 

By Witchmaster

Fortress Falls 

     The storm was building up around Harry as he searched frantically for the snitch, desperate to end the game. Lightening flashed around him, lighting up everything but that elusive golden ball. The turbulent air was nearly pushing Harry off his broom when he finally saw the snitch. Leaning forward, he dove for it, concentrating on nothing but that. Out of nowhere, a bludger appeared, outlined by the next flash of lightening. Caught off guard, Harry was knocked from his broom and, as he was fifty feet up, there was no chance of his surviving the fall. As he fell, however, the wind blew up stronger than before, and he was carried off into the building, black cloud.

     Just before he entered, he felt a certain sense of cold dread build up to a crescendo. Then…nothing. At least, not at first. Slowly, whispers began to build up, until Harry could hear the exact words being said.

     "Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"      "Wands out, d'you reckon?" 

_     " Cedric Diggory! _Dead!_"_

_     "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"_   

_     " Somebody's coming."_

_     " Stand aside, you silly girl…stand aside, now…"_

_     "Kill the spare."_

     The voices grew louder and louder, until Harry covered his ears to block out the noise as bad memories assaulted him over and over. Suddenly, the voices faded away and the cloud stopped moving with a bump. He looked up, surprised. He hadn't the cloud had been moving. He looked around as the cloud blew away until only a few wisps of mist hung around him. Harry found himself looking out over a grey, storm-tossed ocean. The sky was filled with iron-grey clouds and the rocky landscape was also a drab stone color. There was little plant life around, and what was there had long ago shriveled up and turned brown. An icy wind blew around the place, and even Harry's heavy Quidditch robes couldn't keep out the cold. He turned to see what was behind him, already expecting but still dreading what he would find. There, towering above him was an unfathomably large fortress, dark and forbidding against the sky. Harry felt as though he'd swallowed a bucket of ice upon seeing the infamous building towering above him, one whose name he knew without asking.

_     Azkaban._

     Slowly, his gaze drifted to the front of the wizard prison, to a small group of beings. That was his thought, beings, for at least half the group was made of dementors. With a jolt, Harry realized the other half was Death Eaters. Unsure of what to do, he stood there, waiting to see how this scene would unfold. Lord Voldemort seemed to be quite unaffected by the power of the dementors, though his followers were shaking and staying as far away from them as they could without angering their lord. Suddenly, as one, both the Death Eaters and dementors bowed down, so only the Dark Lord was standing. Harry realized with a thrill of horror that the dementors had agreed to join the one who could give them more pleasure for their powers. As he watched all the Death Eaters stood and raised their wands, pointing them at the fortress. As one, all their voices cried an incantation. There was a blinding flash of light and the whole landscape seemed to glow with the sudden surge of magic. Then, complete and utter silence. Not a breeze blew and the sound of the ocean slapping against the unyielding stone was none existent. Everything down to the faint screams of those inside Azkaban, a sound Harry hadn't noticed until in was absent, was completely quiet.

      Then, as suddenly as it had gone, the sound came rushing back. Except the despairing screams had turned into cries of relief as those still sane enough after years of imprisonment realized their cells had sprung open and the dementors had released their hold over the place. Witches and wizards accused of all crimes came flooding out of the freed prison. Some people were crying, or hugging each other, others were just standing there staring about in a sort of wide-eyed shock. Gradually, however, they came to notice the Death Eaters and the still bowing dementors in front of them. Or, moreover, to notice the tall wizard standing in front of both groups. The one most wizards considered to be the curse of all wizard kind was a savior to them. In unison, they bowed down, all murmuring. Even as far away as he was, Harry got the general idea of what was being said. They were indebted to him, all whispered. They would serve him forever. The Dark Lord had an army of wizards eager for revenge on their captors.

"NO!!" Harry screamed and was jolted awake by his own shout. His bed was soaked in sweat and he was shaking. He held his breath, praying his shout hadn't awakened the Dursleys. If it had, it certainly wouldn't be the first time that summer. He listened for any sound that might give any indication that a very angry uncle would soon be bursting through his bedroom door. No, fortunately. Otherwise, he'd probably spend the rest of the summer locked in the cupboard under the stairs. 

     Harry rolled out of bed and walked over to his desk, which was covered in rolls of parchment. He'd promised Professor Dumbledore at the beginning of the summer that if he had any dreams concerning Voldemort that he'd write what the dream had meant and mail it to Dumbledore. He'd also promised to write exactly what had occurred in the dream in a book given to him for this purpose. It was this book he opened now and wrote what had been in the dream before he forgot. Then, he took out a piece of parchment and scribbled a note to Dumbledore.

     _Professor Dumbledore,_

_ I had another dream tonight. Azkaban will fall to Voldemort. The dementors and all those sane enough to still use magic will join him. He'll have an army of followers, all bent on revenge against those who imprisoned them. Or, at least, that's what I thought in my dream. _

_Harry_  (a/n: That was in a different font. Sorry if it doesn't show up.)

      Harry sat back and rubbed his forehead. Then, he reread the letter and walked over to where Hedwig was perched on top of his wardrobe.

     " Hey, Hedwig," He whispered. She gave a soft hoot and turned her large, amber eyes on him. " I need you to take this to Professor Dumbledore. It's urgent." She fluttered down to his shoulder and held out her leg. " Thanks. And you can stay at Hogwarts. I'll be there in a couple days." She nipped his finger gently and flew out the open window.

     Harry watched as she flew away with a kind of envy. Sometimes he wished he could fly away. There was always Quidditch at Hogwarts, but at the Dursley's, he was grounded, literally. This summer had been one of the worst. Dudley's diet wasn't working at all, so his cousin was constantly complaining. His uncle Vernon was having a hard time at work, and between her son's and husband's complaints, Aunt Petunia had been driven to near insanity. All this had climaxed last week when Dudley turned the table over because he didn't have enough breakfast. Aunt Petunia had finally lost her temper at him. Uncle Vernon had taken his son's side and much of the past month-and-a-half's tension had been put into the argument that followed. Harry had chosen that moment to make himself scarce and retreated to his room, but the argument shook the house for a long time after.

     Finally, though, the summer was almost over. Two more days, he'd be back at Hogwarts. The Weasley's had agreed to pick Harry up and take him to King's Cross early on September 1st. Thankfully, they would be borrowing cars from the Ministry. Harry didn't think he would survive another summer if last year's incident was repeated.

     As he stood there, thinking, a sudden wave of nausea over took him, and he grabbed the wardrobe for support. As he did, one of the wardrobe doors opened, and he found himself looking in the mirror. What he saw there was shocking.

     His entire image was flickering, almost like a badly tuned television. Then, the flickering stopped, and, for a minute, he was no longer himself. Or, at least, not the self he normally saw when looking in the mirror. His scar was still there, but everything else except his eyes had changed, though even they were slightly darker than usual. His hair was still black, but now it hung past his shoulders, perfectly straight. He was taller, his skin was paler, his cheekbones were higher, absolutely everything "Harry" about him was changed. Then, his image flickered again, and he looked like himself again. He stared at the mirror, wondering if he'd imagined what he'd seen.

     What was going on?

*****

What d'you think? Keep writing? Quit all together? Just click that little grey button, the one that says 'go' on it and tell me what you think. Feel free to ask questions if anything was unclear and I'll try to clear it up for you.

 I still need to know if I should leave in the footnotes or not. I know there weren't any this chapter, but I have a vote in both directions.

 Yay!! Reviews!! Thanks to:

**Phoenix Flight- **I wasn't bored and that wasn't that obvious. If only everyone would write reviews like that. I think I do have a plot now, even if that isn't visible yet. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for the review.

**Banaboo-** Thanks for the review. Snape and Lily isn't really all that far-fetched. It's been done a lot. Thank you for saying mine is one of the best fics you've read. I'm touched * wipes away tear*.

**izean-** I agree that my Snape was a bit extreme, but I wanted to scare Lily badly enough so she would resort to marrying James to protect herself and her child. Thanks for your review!

**bluebird161221-** * Laughs * I guess I needed that reprimand. Thank you so much for saying you liked it and reviewing!

**athena- **I just hope you enjoy the rest of the story, too. You reviewed! Thanks!

**CokeFreak- **Here's the next chapter! Thanks for reviewing!

**eris wannabe- **With sugar on top? Thank you! You reviewed

**ManicGrace-** You like the footnotes, Phoenix Flight says lose them…* sighs * Guess they stay for now. Thank you for taking the time to review!!!

**Hermione Weasley- *** Smirks * And now I have 10. Hey, quit reading over my shoulder! * has a brief fight with younger sibling and wins *  Siblings shouldn't be allowed on ff.net. Oh well, you reviewed!

**jililes-** Glad you liked it! And glad you took the time to review!

Another round of applause for all those who reviewed! Sorry this chapter is shorter than the last. The actual story in the last was nearly six pages. This one's barely four. This is Witchmaster, logging out. Goodnight!

                                               ---_WM_


	3. Anything But Normal

Disclaimer: Um, right, you all know this ain't mine. Harry and Co. belong to J.K. Rowling. However, I do own something. Adriane Black is MINE. You can use her character if you wish, but please ask. 

Summary: I'm over it.

A/N: You can kill me for not posting earlier, but then I can't post any more chapters. What would you do then? A little less thought out than the other chapters, but I have finals this week, so I figured I would force this one to happen.

Truth Be Told 

By Witchmaster 

Anything But Normal 

     Harry managed to escape from the Dursleys without incident for once. Actually, the Dursleys had hidden in the kitchen while the Weasleys had gotten Harry's things. It was after that that things had gotten a little hectic.

     First, Mr. Weasley had gotten lost in the middle of London. They had driven in circles for a very long time before taking a turn down a one-way street. The wrong way. They drove up the street with muggles swerving to avoid them for quite some time. Apparently, one muggle had finally decided to call the police, for a car with flashing lights stopped in front of them, preventing them from going any further. Things had taken an even sharper turn down hill after that. 

     " Sir, you are blocking the road," Mr. Wealsey said as the cop, a small balding gentleman, approached their window.

     " This is a one way street," the cop responded. " You're going the wrong direction." Then he looked in the back and noticed that there were too many people for the number of seat belts. He proceeded to try and write a ticket for Mr. Weasley. However, when the cop asked for a driver's license, he discovered that Mr. Weasley wasn't in possession of one. A big debate followed, ending when Molly Weasley placed a memory charm on the officer, who politely asked them to turn around and gave them directions to King's Cross. Never the less, the whole thing caused them to arrive with about three minutes to spare.

 The first thing noticed by all was how incredibly quiet the station was compared to how it usually was. Harry reckoned that there were only half the students than normal. Even so, he and Ron probably wouldn't have found a compartment that was empty if Hermione hadn't found them and almost physically dragged them, trunks and all, to the front of the train. 

  The entered the small compartment just as the train began to pull away from the station. Caught off guard, Ron slipped and sat down on one of the seats. Unfortunately, Crookshanks was already occupying that place. The cat hissed and stalked over to Hermione. Ron opened his mouth to say something rather nasty about the animal, but caught himself and said "Sorry, Crookshanks," instead.

   Harry and Hermione both stared at him, openmouthed. Hermione was the first to recover from her surprise. " How were both of your summers?"

   Ron's ears went a little red. " Oh… erm…fine," he muttered.

   Hermione turned to Harry, who shrugged. "Okay, I guess. The Dursleys weren't horrible, but Aunt Petunia finally lost it at Dudley," he smiled slightly, still amused by the memory. "Not much else happened."

    "So, Hermione, how was your summer?" Ron's ears were still slightly red.

    " Oh, fine. Viktor invited me to Bulgaria, but my parents wouldn't let me go, " she answered him.

     "That's good," Ron said vaguely. Then, he seemed to realize what he had said and his ears turned redder. " I-I mean…"

    Harry burst out laughing. Soon, Hermione and, eventually, Ron joined in. It felt good to laugh again, something none had done very much that summer. 

     " So, Harry," Hermione managed between giggles, " Did you hear from Sirius at all this summer?"

     " Yes, twice," Harry said. " He's at Professor Lupin's. He said they were working on something, but he wouldn't tell me what."

   " Probably something to do with You-Know-Who's return," Ron said, without thinking.

  " Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, as if he'd cursed.

   Harry's reaction was much different than hers. " Say, Voldemort," he said calmly. Ron flinched. " And, its okay, Hermione."

  " Have you had any dreams this summer?" they both ask simultaneously. 

   Harry hesitated a fraction of a second before answering, "No." Better not to make them worry.

     They both looked at him suspiciously, but didn't ask again. All three sat there silently for a few minutes.

    In a desperate effort to break the silence, Harry suddenly asked, " I wonder who's going to be the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year?"

    " I dunno," Ron said. " Maybe another ex-auror?"

" Just as long as he or she isn't another Death Eater in disguise," Harry said, with a grimace at the memory of last year.

     " I, for one, wish Professor Lupin would come back," Hermione said. Harry and Ron nodded in agreement. 

     They continued talking in this manner for a long time, until the lunch cart came around. Even Ron bought something from the cart, much to the surprise of Harry and Hermione. Ron usually shared with them, not that they minded. The Weasleys were nice people, but incredibly poor.

   " What?" he asked, noticing their stares. " Dad got a raise, and Fred and George gave me a bit of extra money. Dunno where they got it, but they bought me new dress robes, too." He rummaged around in his trunk. " Blue and no lace on them."

    Harry mentally smiled a knowing smile. Outwardly, he said " That's great, Ron."

     They talked a bit more, while eating pumpkin pastries and chocolate frogs, among other things. They continued to discuss their summers, and what classes were going to be like this year as the landscape rolled by outside the window. They were interrupted when the sliding door rolled open, revealing Draco Malfoy, for once not followed by his two stooges. 

  Harry and Ron leapt to their feet, Hermione rising more slowly. " Malfoy!" Ron snarled.

   All were surprised to see Malfoy look a little frightened, and he turned and left without a word. The trio stared after him for a few minutes before Ron stepped forward and slammed the door shut. "What was that about?" he asked. Harry shrugged and even Hermione looked perplexed.

    At that moment, the Weasley twins chose to make their entrance. They came through the door with a bag filled, no doubt, with things for pranks, wearing identical, devilish grins. Ron eyed them warily.

    The twins walked over to Harry and each draped an arm over his shoulders. Fred bent his head close to Harry's ear and whispered, " We used the money you gave us to invent some stuff." That was all the clue he gave as to what.

    " Anyone want a sweet?" George asked, offering the bag around. Not surprisingly, no one took up the offer.

    They all whiled away the rest of the time playing Exploding Snap and laughing at Fred and George's jokes. At one point, Neville Longbottom joined them, unwittingly taking one of the trick sweets. A few seconds later, a purple bunny with pink spots sat where he had been. ( A/N: I give Sirius's Crazy Chick full credit for that.) After a short while, only his hair remained that strange coloration. 

  " Cocoa Conies," Fred informed them. This sent everyone into another fit of laughter.

   By and by, they approached the school. Not for the first time, Harry got the feeling he was going home. This time, however, the feeling was tainted with a darker memory, which he pushed aside. 

    All the boys stepped out of the room so Hermione could change. She did the same for them. When she came back, Ron noticed the prefect's badge pinned to her robe.

   " Hermione, why didn't you sit with the other prefects?" he asked.

    " Because I didn't want to have to listen to Parvati and Lavender discuss how wonderful Divination was going to be this year," she said with a sniff. 

    Ron opened his mouth to say something, but the train suddenly lurched to a stop, and he was again thrown to the side. Instead of landing on Crookshanks this time, however, he landed on top of Hermione. Both turned scarlet. Ron attempted to stammer an apology as she yelled "RON!!" Everyone else found this hilarious, but they refused to talk to each until they reached the castle.

    Fred and George were teasing the two mercilessly as they approached the Great Hall. However, all were struck dumb by the amount, or, rather, the lack there of, of the students in the hall. Harry had been nearly dead on in guessing that there was only half the amount of normal students. Gryffindor had by far the most, only missing the seventh years who had graduated last year, though by the look of the few first years entering, that number would hardly be replaced. Even the new students looked to be only half the ordinary number.

     Fred, George, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all took their seats as Professor McGonagall brought out the Sorting Hat and set it on the old three-legged stool. A rip in the brim opened wide and seemed to smile, before the hat burst into song.

_"Let me sing a song for you_

_I'll tell you all about_

_A small story, old and true_

_About each Hogwarts House_

_All together there are four_

_That's how its always been_

_Hufflepuff and Gryffindor_

Ravenclaw and Slytherin 

_If you belong in Hufflepuff_

_Then you are just and loyal_

_Always mild, never rough_

_You're unafraid of toil_

_If you be of clever mind_

_Then Ravenclaws the best_

_Here you'll always find your kind_

_The wise among the rest_

_Or maybe in sly Slytherin_

_If you desire power_

_Or if cunning and ambition_

_Drive your waking hour_

_Or might you dwell in Gryffindor_

_Those brave and strong of heart_

_The daring will forever more_

_Set Gryffindors apart_

_Don't be afraid, put me on_

_I'll see your every thought_

_Never once have I been wrong_

_I'll find your perfect spot!"_

     The whole of the Great Hall burst into applause, with enough sound to make up for those missing. The clapping and cheering broke off as McGonagall called the first student forward, "Bard, Dylan" who became a Ravenclaw. Harry turned back to his friends.

     " Wonder why there are so few people this year," Ron said. " D'you think it has anything to do with You-Kn- alright, Harry- Voldemort's," he quailed under Harry's glare and shuddered as he said the name, " return?"

     Harry shrugged, albeit pleased with himself for finally getting Ron to say the name. "Guess it could, but most of the wizarding world doesn't think he's back," he said. He applauded "Dane, Samantha" as she became the first new Gryffindor. Then he glanced up at the teacher's table. Professor Dumbledore was watching the Sorting with much the same expression he always wore, though slightly sadder; the twinkle in his eyes wasn't as bright as it had been in the past. Snape wore the same unreadable expression he had at the final feast the term before, though he glanced down the table and gave someone Harry hadn't noticed yet a look of utter loathing. Harry followed his gaze and his heart gave a great leap. Professor Lupin looked at Harry and gave him a small wave, which Harry returned. As Professor Lupin turned back to Professor Sinstra, who he'd been conversing with, Harry turned back to his friends.

     " Professor Lupin's back," he whispered excitedly. All of them started and turned up to the teacher's table.

     " D'you think he's going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts again?" Ron asked with barely restrained excitement.

     " Of course he is, Ron," Hermione scoffed, " It's the only open position, isn't it?" She turned back to watch " Moran, Damian" get sorted into Slytherin. Ron stuck his tongue out at her back.

     " Zablione, Gina" was the last person to get sorted and became a Gryffindor. All together, there were only about a dozen new students. Four had wound up in Gryffindor. Dumbledore stood up as Gina took her seat and McGonagall. He smiled and looked around. " All I have to say is: Eat!"

     By magic, food appeared on all the tables. Harry smiled as he heard a couple of the first years gasp with surprise. That had much been his reaction during first year when the same thing happened. He reached for the potatoes just as one of the first years did. The result was the potatoes flew all over the table. The first year, a blue-eyed girl with long, dark, wavy brown hair, started to apologize just as Harry did. Harry started laughing and soon the girl joined in. She stuck out her hand across the table. He took it.

     " I'm Samantha Dane. Most people call me Sam," she said, eyes sparkling with merriment. 

      " I'm Harry Potter, " he said, expecting the usual goggle-eyed stare his name generally brought on. Much to his relief, she showed no reaction.

     " Nice to meet you, Harry," she said. She turned to the boy sitting beside her. " Dave, meet Harry. Harry, meet Dave." Harry and the boy shook hands. Sam introduced Harry to all the first years, and in turn, Harry introduced his friends. Fred and George shared a look, one that said they were planning something.

     " Anyone want a sweet?" Fred asked innocently. He offered a very familiar bag. Dave eyed them, but took one any way. Seconds later, Dave was a red and gold striped bunny. Everyone at that end of the table started laughing. When he changed back, except, of course, for his hair, Dave joined them. Neville touched his still slightly purple and pink hair.

     " They did the same thing to me earlier," he confessed.

     Still snickering, Sam brought out a bag of her own. " Sweet?" she said in the same manner Fred had. Surprised, Fred and George took one each. Everyone found the two tiny owls, one blue and one red, even funnier than the Chocolate Conies.

     Fred and George were looking murderous when they reappeared, but before they could retaliate, the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up again.

     " Another year has arrived," he said. Everyone cheered. " As usual, I have some start of term notices to make. The Forbidden Forest is still, as it's name suggests, forbidden. All houses will be having Quidditch trials one week into the term. Anyone can try out, but first years are reminded they may not have their own brooms." Harry noticed Sam looked vaguely disappointed. " However, we must now discuss a more serious topic.

     " All of you remember the death of Cedric Diggory at the end of term last year." His eyes rested on all of the tables in turn, remaining on Hufflepuff the longest. " I once again wish to honor his memory," he said as he lifted his glass. Everyone, including all off the Slytherins, which Harry now noticed contained no Death Eater's children except Malfoy. " However, I do not believe Cedric would wish for us to dwell on the past. In light of Voldemort's," most of the people in the room, with the exception of most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins, flinched, "return, I repeat what I said at the end of last term. We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided." His eyes scanned the tables again, and there was no doubt this time that his eyes rested on Gryffindor and Slytherin the longest. " Old rivalries must be forgotten if we are to defeat a common enemy. Our survival may depend on our ability to work together." One last time, he looked at everyone in the Great Hall. Then he smiled.

     " On a lighter note, we have one new and one returning teacher in our midst," he said. Harry looked at his friends in confusion. Professor Lupin was the only 'new' teacher and there had only been one job opening anyway. " Our dear Professor Binns has finally retired. His class, History of Magic, will be taken over by returning Professor Remus Lupin." The hall erupted into wild cheering. Even if History of Magic was the most boring class in the school, A teacher as good as Professor Lupin was bound to make it interesting! Dumbledore let the cheering go on for several minutes before clearing his throat. This had as much of an effect as if he'd shouted. The hall fell quiet. " Also, though she will not be arriving until late tonight, we have a new teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Several people laughed. No one could remember the last time they hadn't had a new Defense teacher. " Though she is not here, I would like to introduce Professor Adriane Black!" The hall clapped, though the sound was not as tumultuous as it had been for Lupin. The reaction at the teacher's table was very different, though.

     Professors McGonagall, Sinstra, Sprout, and several others all looked at Dumbledore like he'd finally completely lost it. Hagrid and Lupin both looked shocked, as if they'd just realized something they hadn't thought of before. Snape, for one, had a mixed look on his face, somewhere between anger and confusion. All in all, the general air was one of disbelief.

      Dumbledore either didn't notice their looks, or just ignored them. " Off to bed with you lot," he said, and turned to Lupin, who had  started walking up to him when he had opened his mouth to dismiss the students.

     The four fifth years walked out behind Fred and George and the first years, whose topic of discussion seemed to be pranks.

     " D'you see the looks on the other teacher's faces when Dumbledore announced who the new Defense teacher was?" Ron asked. Hermione nodded and Harry made an affirmative noise. Even Neville nodded. 

     " It was pretty obvious," Hermione said. Harry listened absently to what they were saying. He glanced back to where Dumbledore was talking to Lupin, who was nodding about something.

     He didn't know why, but he had a deep feeling that this year was going to be anything but normal.

*****

 Ok, I did it!! I actually finished this chapter!!. The night before finals start, too. Health (urgg) and English tomorrow. Honors English isn't that bad, and at least I don't have to take the comprehensive final in Health. 

 A couple of things I need help with;

I need a part for Draco Malfoy. With him on the light side, of course. Anyone have a brilliant idea I could borrow? A million kudos to the person (or peoples) who help. Should any of the first years have a role in the story? I kinda like Sam. I still need a vote either way on the footnotes. 

All in all, an okay chapter. Longer than the others, but it didn't get anywhere. A little funnier than usual for me. No worries, angst is coming. Oh, and Adriane will be a big character. There's a lot of stuff coming people probably don't expect. Care to guess, anybody? Some of its obvious. Have fun.

Multiple thanks to the following people. 

**_Ox king_**_: Lots of people like that idea._

**_Shizu_**_: Thank you!!!  Here's more._

**_Angel_**_: I didn't stop. I just took a break. __J _

**_Hermionegranger_**_: I hope you found this chapter just as interesting._

**_bluebird16122_**_1: You deserve to hex me into oblivion, you really do._

**_Izean_**_: It was both actually. Dream and vision, that is. It started out as dream and became vision. _

**_s0ccerstar3000_**_: Here's more. Hope you enjoyed it._

**_Ray_**_: Thank you._

**_Jen_**_: Bet you thought I'd quit. But I'm back, I really am._

_ **eris wannabe**: Thanks for saying I'm talented. ** embarrassed smile**_

**_jliles_**_: Glad you like it._

**_Littletiger_**_: I'm glad you liked the descriptions. I think a lot of a story is in descriptions._

**_Abby_**_: One of the best? I dunno. There are a lot of good ones._

**_Emma_**_: He was hideous, wasn't he? ** Laughs evilly**  I needed Lily desperate._

**_Aniwda_**_: Thanks. A lot of the story's in the beginning._

**_Helen_**_: Here it is!! Enjoy._

_Candledot: A double review!! Not many people do that, myself included. No, Sev was not under Imperious. I wanted Lily running scared, right into the protective arms of her fellow auror and friend. ** Grimaces** That sounded really corny._

Tank u again. Chocolate Conies for everyone!!!

Alrighty then, I'd better go study. I'll try to post soon. Reviews are always welcome. That way, I know who to thank for reading. Or maybe I'm the review greedy author. Later, dudes 'n' chicks.

                              _--WM_


End file.
